Book Review: Our Home And Treaty Land

Our Home And Treaty Land: Walking Our Creation Story

Authors: Raymond Aldred & Matthew Anderson

Publisher: Wood Lake Publishing Inc., paperback, 186 pages, including: The Authors & This Book, Prefaces, Appendices, Notes, Bibliography, and Acknowledgements

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

The Authors

Rev. Dr. Raymond Aldred is status Cree (Nêhiyawak) from Swan River Band, Treaty 8. Ray is the director of the Indigenous Studies Program at the Vancouver School of Theology and is ordained with the Anglican Church of Canada. He travels nationally and internationally giving talks on restoring or pursuing right relations, including our relationship with land. His passion is to help as many as possible hear the gospel in their heart language. Together, Ray and his wife Elaine have also helped train people to facilitate support groups for those who have suffered abuse.

Rev. Dr. Matthew R. Anderson is from Treaty 4; he is a settler-descended biblical scholar who teaches New Testament Studies and Pilgrimage Studies at Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec and at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He was recently appointed Director of Camino Nova Scotia at the Atlantic School of Theology and is an ordained Lutheran Pastor. Matthew podcasts at Pilgrimage Stories from Up and Down the Staircase, and blogs at somethinggrand.ca and unsettledwords.com. He also teaches about the notion of the Commons or the “right to roam.” This reviewer and Matthew were members of the same Lutheran congregation many years ago. 

This volume is dedicated to the memory of the thousands of Indigenous children who were taken from their families and never made it home.

The format of this book is that of a settler-descended/Indigenous dialogue—with Rev. Dr. Aldred beginning with a chapter, and Rev. Dr. Anderson responding with a chapter. Altogether the work consists of 18 chapters. 

Brief Observations

According to Rev. Dr. Raymond Aldred, “Treaty means that your identity is bigger than just you (p. 8).” He states that those who signed Treaty in the late 19^th century thought ahead seven generations. Journeying on the land connects one with one’s ancestors and grandchildren. 

Professor Aldred in his Preface speaks of both Indigenous peoples and settler-descended Canadians living in exile because of colonization. Then he states the purpose of this book: “This book is about “being alive well,” or “journeying well,” for settler-descended Canadians, in relation to us Indigenous people (p. 9).” 

Rev. Dr. Aldred then introduces three Cree words. Pimâcihowin, meaning journeying and related to health-well-being, and it also refers to “living” and “culture.” Pimâcihowin is also linked to Indigenous wisdom and knowledge, and hence philosophy and theology—thus this word has a lot of baggage.

The Cree word “askîhk” is “land,” and means all of Creation.

The word wâhkôhtowin means living life in relation with every one and everything, it is “kinship relationality.” Land is shared and viewed as public space. Hence the European understanding of land ownership is foreign to Indigenous peoples. For Indigenous peoples the land is sacred, therefore all relationships on the land are to be sacred.

According to Rev. Dr. Anderson, oftentimes when settler-descended people like himself speak of their identity, they refer to themselves as Norwegian (etc.) Canadians, rather than being born and raised on Treaty land. 

It was on walking pilgrimages “...that eventually led (Rev. Dr. Anderson) to meeting, listening to, and learning from Indigenous activists, scholars, artists and friends, including Rev. Dr. Aldred, Richard Kotowich, and Louise Skydancer Halfe (p. 17).” His walking pilgrimages were mostly on Treaty 6 and Treaty 4 lands. 

Professor Anderson’s main purpose in co-writing this volume is stated as follows: “My part of this book is intended for others, like me, who seek right relationships to the land and to its original peoples, but don’t quite know how to begin (p. 21).” Professor Anderson also provides references to resources that can help settler-descendants to join Indigenous Peoples on water walks and walks that highlight missing murdered Indigenous women and girls, and two-spirited persons. 

According to Rev. Dr. Aldred: “Canada only exists because of the Treaties that First Nations made with Newcomers (p. 27).”

Treaties involved Sweetgrass or Smudging Ceremonies, which are extremely important for Indigenous peoples in relation to non-Indigenous peoples. In the Treaties, there are three Indigenous rights: i) peaceful existence in the land; ii) access to the land; iii) sharing the wealth of the land. According to Professor Aldred, the Treaties are sacred covenants between two peoples and the Creator, and should be renewed every year. 

Rev. Dr. Anderson refers to “settler realization” and “intentional forgetfulness.” According to Professor Anderson, “settler realization” involves facing facts—not living in denialism because it makes us uncomfortable, forgetting the responsibility of Canadians to the Treaties. Many, perhaps most Canadian families—including Anderson’s—never talked about the Treaty covenants. Tragically, non-Indigenous Canadians have all benefitted from the exploitation, oppression, and failure to honour the Treaties.

Professor Anderson recommends several resources—both Indigenous and non-Indigenous—that Canadians can learn from. He then, in confessional style, names many of the non-Indigenous sins committed against Indigenous peoples—followed by a reference to repentance, and the pilgrimage toward justice. 

Rev. Dr. Aldred cites two examples of Jesus coming to meet Indigenous Elders and a prophet named Bini or Benny. Jesus revealed to them that the Europeans were coming prior to their arrival. 

Rev. Dr. Anderson provides an insightful interpretation of Mark 10:17-22, Jesus’s encounter with the rich person. He notes that the story begins with Jesus “setting out on a journey,” which most likely involved walking. He suggests one of the most important points of the story is God calling us to be unsettled. Based on his and Professor Sara Terreault’s experiences of meeting a Mohawk leader and organizing group trips for university students for walks from Old Montreal to the Mohawk Territory—Professor Anderson offers wise advise on how to get to know Indigenous peoples and how to organize events with Indigenous educators. What to do, and not to do. 

Professor Anderson, at times, sounds like a Hebrew Bible prophet, citing a litany of unjust Canadian government policies toward Indigenous peoples, which have caused them enormous sufferings. He also appeals to us non-Indigenous Canadians to respectfully listen to and learn from Indigenous history and stories. 

Rev. Dr. Aldred shares an Indigenous creation story, then appeals to settler-descended Canadians to search their hearts and repent for breaking the Treaties. He is hopeful, that in the future: “As we move toward proper relatedness, we can find—we fill find—an affirming freedom, and equality, for all people (p. 159).” 

Both of the Appendices are very helpful, as their titles suggest: “Resources for Starting Out,” and “Calls to Action #s 48, 49, 59, and 60, from Canada’s Truth & Reconciliation Commission.” There is also an extensive, 7 page Bibliography. 

All settler-descended Canadians would benefit from reading this volume. Hopefully it will become a required resource for Indigenous Studies courses. Highly recommended!

Book Review: Stories by Willimon

Stories by Willimon

Author: William H. Willimon

Publisher: Abingdon Press, paperback, 251 pages

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

Will Willimon needs no introduction to many preachers and professors of homiletics—especially here in North America. In addition to his life as a preacher and professor, Willimon is also a prolific writer, having published over 65 books, and thousands of periodical essays, and blog posts. He has also served as a popular keynote speaker at numerous clergy study conferences. 

Contents

This volume consists of a Forward; Part One: Sowers; Part Two: Seeds; Part Three: Senses; Part Four: Secrets; Story Title Index; Scripture Index, Theme Index; and Credits. The volume is a collection from a variety of Willimon’s writings from various sources over the years.

Willimon’s writings include—among other genres: sermons, theology, humour, prophetic exhortations, satire, fiction, personal reflections/autobiography, lament, and more. 

The following examples, one from each part, hopefully inspire readers of this brief review to purchase or borrow this volume from the library.

In Part One: Sowers, here is a brief citation from Willimon’s advice to someone who, in a letter, asked him how to preach like him. The piece is titled “So, You Want to Preach?” Willimon advises: “So, you want to preach? Fall in love with words. Collect clichés and burn them. Read all the plays (sonnets too) of Shakespeare. Poach from the poems of Yeats, consume the short stories of O’Connor. Fall in love, and out again. Be in pain. Get lost. Roam. Come back home. Get saved. In sin, be bold. Gape at your people when doing visitation. Listen to their lives, their lies, their dreams, their hopes. Keep notes. Listen. Attend one of our first-rate theology schools (pp. 20-21).” 

In Part Two: Seeds, Willimon tells a brilliant parable titled, “Teach ‘em a Lesson.” The parable’s main character is a successful, yet merciless business leader, chair of his church’s board, Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary. After he dies, God the Judge commands: “Forgive him! It’ll teach him a lesson (p. 50).”

In Part Three: Senses, Willimon, in a sermon he preached at Duke University Chapel on December 7, 1986, titled “Jews and Christians, All in the Family,” re-tells Luke 15:1-32. He concludes: “The younger brother had succeeded in locking out his brother, he had the whole house to himself, but alas, he had locked out his loving father as well (p. 122).”

In Part Four: Secrets, Willimon humours readers in his piece titled “Feedback,” in which he shares from his collection of responses to his writing. “Criticism of liberal theology won me this fusillade: No Dr. Willimon, we will not march back into the dark ages of narrow-mindedness, bigotry, and closed thinking. If I had my ways, you would be banished from the pages of every church magazine, defrocked and silenced. Just imagine what he would do to me if he weren’t open-minded” (p. 208). 

For preachers—and others—who love stories, this volume will humour, inspire, offend, encourage, critique, challenge, instruct, affirm and more. 

Book Review: The Night Trilogy

Book Review: The Night Trilogy Consisting Of A Memoir, Translated By Marion Wiesel, And Two Novels: Night, Dawn, Day

Author: Elie Wiesel

Publisher: Hill and Wang A Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux

339 pages, paperback

Author

Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor, award-winning author of 57 books, Nobel Peace Prize winner, professor, and political activist.

Night

In his "Preface to the New Translation" of Night, Elie Wiesel begins by stating: "If in my lifetime I was to write only one book, this would be the one." (p. 5) He then claims that it is the key to understanding all of his other works. Then he goes on to reflect on why he wrote Night. 

Night was a testimony written by Wiesel as a witness to what happened in the Holocaust. It was written as a moral obligation to prevent the enemy from succeeding in erasing their crimes from history. "Convinced that this period in history would be judged one day, I knew I must bear witness." (p. 6)

According to Wiesel: "Only those who experienced Auschwitz know what it was. Others will never know." (p. 7) Hence the necessity of Holocaust survivors being witnesses and bearing testimony to the world.

Wiesel grew up in the town of Sighet in Transylvania. He was a devout Jew who studied Talmud, the Jewish mysticism of Kabbalah and attended synagogue.

Wiesel describes how his mentor, the Beadle, Moishe had escaped from the Nazis and came back to Sighet to warn the people there of how the Nazis were killing Jews and that their lives were in danger. Tragically no one, including Wiesel, believed him. Some thought he was even mad.

No one believed the Nazis would come to Sighet, until one day they did.

When the Nazis came, they systematically destroyed the rights, privileges and freedoms of the Jews in Sighet. They also took their silver, gold, jewelry, and other valuables. Then they were loaded into box cars and taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau. 

On the first day in the concentration camp Wiesel witnessed people being thrown into a burning pit, including young children and babies. Witnessing this evil, he wrote: 

"Never shall I forget the small faces of the children whose bodies I saw transformed into smoke under a silent sky.

Never shall I forget those flames that consumed my faith forever.

Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes." (p. 52)

One day, a young boy along with two men were hanged, and all the other prisoners had to watch. The boy however remained alive for over half an hour. Everyone had to walk past him. Behind Wiesel a man asked: "For God's sake, where is God?" And from within me (Elie), I heard a voice answer: "Where He is? This is where--hanging here from this gallows...."(p. 83)

Wiesel tells of the Jews in the concentration camp participating in the last day of the year--Rosh Hashanah service. Rather than blessing God's name, Wiesel asks God some difficult questions, functioning like a prosecuting lawyer, placing God on trial. 

"How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch as fathers, our mothers, our brothers end up in the furnaces?" (p. 84)

Wiesel goes on to say: "I was the accuser, God the accused. My eyes had opened and I was alone, terribly alone in a world without God, without (sic) man. Without love or mercy." (p. 86)

Wiesel goes on to describe the cruel struggle for survival until the Americans arrived at Buchenwald on April 11, 1945. 

Dawn

In his Preface to this, his first novel, Wiesel describes the setting: Palestine under Great Britain, prior to the state of Israel. He also describes the protagonist, Elisha, a member of the Jewish resistance. Wiesel also mentions some of the questions raised in the novel such as: good and evil, hatred and revenge, terror and justice.

Elisha was a young 18-year-old Holocaust survivor. He left Buchenwald concentration camp to live in France. One day he met Gad, a messenger, who recruited Elisha to join the Jewish resistance Movement for an independent homeland. 

A Movement fighter, David ben Moshe was captured by the English and he was to be executed at dawn--rejecting appeals to show clemency. 

The Movement had captured British Captain John Dawson. Elisha was assigned the responsibility of executing Dawson at dawn.

The Movement told the British that for every Movement member the British captured and executed the Movement would capture and execute a British soldier. Their ideology was to use violent, terrorist tactics against the English to force them out of Palestine. 

"If we must become more unjust and inhuman than those who have been unjust and inhuman to us, then we shall do so. The commandment Thou shalt not kill was given from the summit of one of the mountains here in Palestine, and we were the only ones to obey it. But that's all over; we must be like everybody else. Murder will be not our profession but our duty." (pp. 162-163)

According to the Movement's leader, called the Old Man, they were to live by the eleventh commandment--hate your enemy.

The night before Elisha is going to kill John Dawson, he is plagued with the following thoughts: "He who has killed one man alone is a killer for life. He may choose another occupation, hide himself under another identity, but the executioner or at least the executioner's mask will always be with him." (p. 195)

Day

Day, Wiesel's second novel, is a sequel to Dawn. 

The protagonist in the novel is hit by a taxi crossing Times Square in Manhattan, and struggles between life and death.

Is there meaning in life after Auschwitz? The tragedy of indifference and survivor's guilt are, among others, themes in this novel. 

After surviving surgery, the protagonist's worst enemy was a fever. He tells the doctor: "You see, Doctor, what people say is true: man (sic) carries his fiercest enemy within himself. Hell isn't others. It's ourselves." (p. 245)

The novel then moves to Paris, where the protagonist--who is still not named--meets Kathleen. In the beginning of the book he had been with Kathleen on their way to a movie, when the taxi hit him. 

In his thoughts, the protagonist struggles with theodicy and seems angry with God. "Man (sic) prefers to blame himself for all possible sins and crimes rather than come to the conclusion that God is capable of the most flagrant injustice." (p. 264)

"Yes, God needs man (sic). Condemned to eternal solitude, He made man (sic) only to use him as a toy, to amuse Himself." (p. 265)

The protagonist--a Holocaust survivor, seems like he is Elisha from the first novel, even though he's still not named--suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and has nightmares and screams. 

Elisha's thoughts as a Holocaust survivor are imprisoned by the past: "You cannot hide suffering and remorse for long. They come out. It was true: I was living in the past. Grandmother, with her black shawl on her head, wasn't giving me up." (p. 325)

He continues this line of thought concerning survivor's guilt: "We cannot forget. The images are there in front of our eyes. We feel ashamed and guilty to be alive, to eat as much bread as we want, to wear good, warm socks in the winter." (p. 325)

At the end of the novel, a Hungarian artist friend, Gyula, appears. He speaks of life and death and shares his thoughts about their meaning. He leaves by carrying out one final act.

These three works of Elie Wiesel are very sobering, difficult and challenging to read. However, I would recommend them as essential resources on the Holocaust. 

Book Review: Bonhoeffer: Pastor Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy

Author: Eric Metaxas

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

608 pages, paperback, including: Forward, Prologue, Notes, Bibliography, Epilogue, Errata, About the Author, Acknowledgments, Index, and Reading Group Guide

In chapter one, “Family and Childhood,” Metaxas looks at Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s parents’ backgrounds. His mother Paula, was related to members of the German aristocracy. His dad came from a family of professionals: doctors, pastors, judges, etc.

Dietrich was the third youngest of eight children. His mother, a teacher, taught the Bonhoeffer children at home until they were 7 or 8—then they went to school and excelled. 
 

The family didn’t attend church too often. Rather, they followed the Moravian tradition of daily Bible reading, singing hymns and prayer at home.

Dietrich’s dad, Karl, held the chair in psychiatry and neurology at the university in Breslau and later in Berlin. 
 

In his childhood, Dietrich enjoyed playing the piano; he was good at sightreading; and he could also arrange and compose pieces. The whole Bonhoeffer family was also musical. 
 

At the age of fourteen, Bonhoeffer announced that he would become a theologian, much to the disappointment of his family. Bonhoeffer’s first year of university was at Tübingen, following family tradition.

The Bonhoeffer family was very close; they kept in touch and visited with each other frequently. 
 

When he was eighteen, he and his brother Klaus visited Rome, where they attended a Palm Sunday Service. At this service, Dietrich saw people of various cultures and races; and that influenced his thinking about the universality of the church. 
 

Bonhoeffer transferred from Tübingen to the University of Berlin; where he earned his doctorate at twenty-one years of age. He studied under Adolf von Harnack, Karl Holl, Reinhold Seeberg and Adolf Deissman. He was also influenced by Karl Barth.

In Dietrich’s years of study in Berlin; he was also active as a teacher in a parish for young people; and he frequently attended operas, concerts, plays and museums. After he obtained his doctorate; he accepted a one year call to serve as vicar at a German congregation in Barcelona, Spain.

At the age of twenty-four; after he passed his theological examination; which qualified him to be a university lecturer; Dietrich decided to go to America and study at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Once at Union, he wrote: “There is no theology here....” (p. 101) He found the students rather superficial—concerned more with economics and politics than theology. Union was a bastion of liberal theology. 
 

Dietrich’s following remarks reflect his more neo-orthodox-conservative theological leanings: “In New York they preach about virtually everything; only one thing is not addressed, or is addressed so rarely that I have yet been unable to hear it, namely, the gospel of Jesus Christ, the cross, sin and forgiveness, death and life.” (p. 106)

While in New York, Bonhoeffer discovered Abyssinian Baptist Church, and appreciated Dr. Adam Clayton Powell Sr.’s preaching the gospel and active opposition to racism.

When Bonhoeffer returned to Berlin from America; he preached a very serious sermon on Reformation Sunday in 1932—calling on the church to wake up to the dark things happening in Germany and to be more committed to following Christ. He emphasized the Sermon on the Mount more often in his sermons.

As a lecturer at the University of Berlin and as a pastor teaching confirmands; Bonhoeffer emphasized the Bible as God’s Word, which speaks to us personally; addresses current events; and helps us live out our faith in practical ways. He also befriended his students and invited them to his home to be with his family for musical evenings, conversations and meals.

In 1933, Germany lost its democracy and the rule of law when Hindenburg signed the Reichstag Fire Edict, and the Reichstag passed the Enabling Act, abolishing its existence and allowing Hitler and the Nazis to rule Germany as a dictatorship.

For Bonhoeffer, the church “has an unconditional obligation to the victims of any ordering of society, even if they do not belong to the Christian community.” (p. 154) Here Bonhoeffer was referring the Jews.

Metaxas describes the dark days in Germany as the Nazis’ ideology spread into the “German Christian” church. Bonhoeffer opposed the “German Christians” who excluded Jewish Christians from serving as pastors; advocated abandoning the Old Testament, downplayed the centrality of the crucifixion; and promoted the removal of all Jewishness in the New Testament. At times, Bonhoeffer felt like a lonely voice crying in the wilderness against the Nazis.

Bonhoeffer accepted a call to serve two German congregations in London, where he became friends with Bishop George Bell. This friendship would continue right up to Dietrich’s death; and it would keep the British updated concerning the grave situation in Germany. Bonhoeffer also made other ecumenical contacts; seeking their support in opposing the Reichskirche.

Eberhard Bethge, a student of Bonhoeffer’s at the Finkenwalde seminary, recalls Dietrich’s advice on preaching: “Write your sermon in daylight; don not write it all at once; ‘in Christ’ there is no room for conditional clauses; the first minutes on the pulpit are the most favourable, so do not waste them with generalities but confront the congregation straight off with the core of the matter; extemporaneous preaching can be done by anyone who really knows the Bible.” (p. 272)

At the Finkenwalde seminary, Bonhoeffer introduced worship services first thing in the morning and last thing at night, extemporaneous prayer, and private confession. He chose Bethge as his confessor-pastor.

In 1935, the Nazis passed the Nuremberg Laws, which were antisemitic. After that, the Nazis increasingly passed more laws seeking to remove all opposition to Hitler and the Nazi dictatorship—including the Confessing Church. Many Confessing Church pastors were arrested and imprisoned—including Martin Niemoeller, who spent seven years in Dachau concentration camp. Bonhoeffer visited these pastors and their families. 
 

After the Nazis closed the Finkenwalde seminary, Bonhoeffer tried unsuccessfully to get it opened again. So the Confessing Church organized collective pastorates—illegal seminaries—in remote locations in Pomerania, which were modelled after the Finkenwalde seminary. Bonhoeffer’s spirits remained hopeful, and he enjoyed life in these secluded places.

At the time of Kristallnacht in 1938, Bonhoeffer was meditating upon Psalm 74, when he realized that: “to lift one’s hand against the Jews was to lift one’s hand against God himself.” (p. 316)

Metaxas cites several quotations from Bonhoeffer on how agonizing it was for him to make the decision to go back to America in 1939 to avoid being called into the German military. Once Dietrich arrived in New York, he was uncertain about his decision; he was also quite unhappy and missed his German colleagues in the Confessing Church.

One Sunday Bonhoeffer attended the service at Riverside Church to hear Harry Emerson Fosdick preach. Bonhoeffer—sounding a bit like Jeremiah when he spoke of false prophets—to say the least, was not impressed with this liberal theologian’s sermon: “The whole thing was a respectable, self-indulgent, self-satisfied religious celebration. This sort of idolatrous religion stirs up the flesh which is accustomed to being kept in check by the Word of God. Such sermons make for libertinism, egotism, indifference.” (p. 333)

With his thoughts daily on the situation back in Germany; Bonhoeffer decided to return to his homeland after only twenty-six days in the U.S.A.

In 1940, Bonhoeffer published his book on the Psalms, but had to fight with the Nazis who wanted to censor it. It was published, and symbolically affirmed Christianity's connection with Judaism, the Jewish people and the Old Testament—all of which the Nazi dictatorship attempted to destroy.
 

Bonhoeffer also developed a different view of the truth; which involved deceit in order to reach a larger goal in conspiring to resist Hitler and the Nazis. In addition to this, he joined the Abwehr—Germany’s Military Intelligence—with the hope that the Gestapo would leave him alone. 
 

Bonhoeffer was a generous soul—he gave Christmas gifts to family and friends, colleagues and theology students, as well as sending letters. He continued to write and serve as a pastor; sending circular letters to the Finkenwaldian Confessing Church pastors to encourage them as the Nazis intentionally removed them from their pastoral work and drafted them into the military as soldiers. Many of them were killed in the war.

The Abwehr sent Bonhoeffer to Switzerland twice to make contact with ecumenical leaders and to ask the British for a negotiated peace if the German conspirators were successful in killing Hitler. The British were not too receptive of a negotiated peace.

Metaxas goes into some detail to describe the unsuccessful assassination attempts on Hitler.

On April 5, 1943, Bonhoeffer was taken by the Gestapo to Tegel Prison, not far from his home. His family visited him there and provided what he requested. There he wrote Love Letters from Cell 92, which would be edited by Maria von Wedemeyer’s sister, Ruth-Alice von Bismark; who would have them published.

While in prison Bonhoeffer maintained his spiritual discipline of meditating on a biblical verse, praying for family, friends and colleagues, and reading the Bible and other books for several hours each day. He also wrote many letters to several people—including two-hundred pages to his friend Eberhard Bethge. The tone and tenor of his letters were often upbeat. Coded messages were sent through the passing of books among the conspirators, including Bonhoeffer.

Bonhoeffer was given special privileges in Tegel Prison because his uncle was Berlin’s military commandant. However, Bonhoeffer was appreciated by both some prison staff and prisoners for his kindness and generosity; and they turned to him as a prison pastor. Bonhoeffer’s fiancee, Maria von Wedemeyer, visited him in prison several times during 1943 and 1944. One of their topics of discussion was about their future wedding.

Bethge was Bonhoeffer’s closest friend, as well as his confessor-pastor. He was able to smuggle letters to him.
 

Bonhoeffer regarded Ethics his magnum opus. In it he advocated an incarnational theology. Christ is not limited to the realm of religion and the church. Rather, his Lordship is over the whole world. For him, what is of ultimate ethical importance is discerning and obeying the will of God.

When Bonhoeffer was transferred to the Gestapo prison in Berlin; he did not betray those involved in the conspiracy to kill Hitler when he was interrogated. He also wrote notes of encouragement to fellow prisoner Schlabrendorff, who wrote I Knew Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

While in Buchenwald prison, the allied forces from the west and the Russians from the east were closing in on the Germans; and their prisoners believed that they might be shot or gassed or hanged any day. In this situation English prisoner Payne Best wrote of Bonhoeffer: “he always seemed to me to diffuse an atmosphere of happiness, of joy in every smallest event of life, and of deep gratitude for the mere fact that he was still alive....He was one of the very few men that I have ever met to whom his God was real and ever close to him.” (p. 514)

The book concludes with an account of Bonhoeffer’s last days and journey to Flossenburg and his execution there; as well as a description of the worship service in England for him with an excerpt of Bishop Bell’s remarks and the sermon of Pastor Franz Hildebrandt. 
 

Eric Metaxas has, with this volume, made a significant contribution to the study of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by providing much of the historical background that influenced Bonhoeffer’s life and work. For that clergy, laity, academic scholars, and readers of the general public will be grateful for years to come.

2016 Synod Study Conference

2016 Synod Study Conference

Photo credit: AB. & T. Synod website

From January 25-28, we attended our annual, Alberta & the Territories Synod Study Conference in beautiful Canmore. This year’s keynote speaker was the Rev. Dr. Anna Madsen, a “freelance theologian” who founded the OMG Center for Theological Conversation in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She holds a Ph. D. in systematic theology from Regensburg, Germany. This year’s theme was “Liberated by God’s Grace.”

   Here are a few random thoughts, based on my notes from Dr. Madsen’s presentations. I apologize for any inaccuracies, distortions, misrepresentations, etc. –Dim Lamp

   According to Dr. Madsen, the core of her theology is Easter. If I understood her correctly, she said that the most important day of the church year for her is Holy Saturday. I find this problematic, since I don’t think we can separate the events of Holy Week and single out one particular day—they are all of a piece intricately woven together. According to Dr. Madsen, Holy Saturday is about ‘proleptic hope,’ and Christ is the grounding of it. Holy Saturday is living in the now and the not yet. Hope is by its very definition proleptic—‘a taking before.’

   Hope is at home in the world of the unpredictable and comes outside of the system; therefore it’s about humility and gives rise to subversive grace. Death is real, but life is real-er. Easter identifies Jesus as the Messiah.

   Now that you know as Christians that death does not win—there is more to do with life than to try to preserve it.

   Imagination is an act of hope—calling into being what is not yet being.

   One learns about grace by considering its opposite—dialectic theology. The world craves tangible grace. The human condition makes us feel that we are in debt. For example, pay your parking fee before it exists. It’s often hard to find expressions of grace in mainstream culture. For example, expressions like “you get what you deserve,” etc., are quite common.

   Grace is being what we are called to be and doing what we are called to do. Grace is doing what you can do. An illustration of this is the gospel story of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet. We cannot do all that we need to do—therefore we can do what we can do.

   Relationships are fostered when finitude is acknowledged. None of us are ever complete in our sinful state, yet grace is possible.

   There is the grace of rest. The Sabbath, as A.J. Heschel observed, connects us with the eternal in time.

   In her second presentation, Dr. Madsen spoke of sin as misdirected trust—trusting in the penultimate rather than the ultimate. Sin is less about morality and more about mortality. In the human condition, there are struggles with chemical imbalances—for example, some folks are victims of their own genes.

   Jesus offers salvation through health and healing. Are you well? is a question of salvation. Relational questions are important. What happens to people that make them like they are? We are called to be ‘holy observers’—not to judge others. Those who are suicidal need to respect their own future self. Hope helps one live into the future.

   In her third presentation, Dr. Madsen spoke of consumption, materialism and individualism. She cited the example of Ayn Rand’s novel, Atlas Shrugged. Rand’s philosophy extolled the virtues of individualism. She said, “I am done with the monster of we.” For Rand, god is I.

   The Hebrew word Tzedec, righteous, means to be properly aligned. Faithful stewardship involves being properly aligned with God, others and the world.

   Do we define ourselves in relation to everything as an extension of ourselves? This definition feeds an endless desire for consumption and material possessions.

   Dr. Madsen referred to Narcissistic Personality Disorder. NPD is a mental disorder where people have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for admiration and a lack of empathy for others. According to Madsen, 98% of NPDs are male. They suffered abuse in their early years and have no positive sense of the self at all, so they look for it externally. For example, Donald Trump depends on lifting up the fact that he’s very wealthy. Dr. Madsen stated that we’re all a bit like Trump insofar as we define ourselves a lot by our externals—our status, education, homes, cars, etc.

   In view of stewardship, what would Jesus have us do? We don’t like limits much in North America—we don’t know the limits regarding materialism. There’s a widely held belief in the credo of limitlessness in North America; and part of this is related to our large space, geographically speaking.

   Dr. Madsen cited the Danish Lutheran pastor, Rev. Kaj Munk, who resisted the Nazi occupation and was murdered by the Gestapo. Rev. Pastor Munk said that sometimes recklessness and a ‘holy rage’ are required in certain circumstances. We may need to rage at the lie.

   It’s worth paying more attention to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit as dunamos—dynamite—powerful. Do we realize what we are praying for when we pray for the Holy Spirit to come into our lives? The Holy Spirit is calling us into the way of Tzedec, a way of authenticity.   

Book Review: Abraham Joshua Heschel: Exploring His Life and Thought

Abraham Joshua Heschel: Exploring His Life and Thought

Author: Edited by John C. Merkle

Publisher: New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., A Division of Macmillan, Inc. & Collier Macmillan Publishers-London

171 pages, including index, Hardcover

Reviewed by Rev. Garth Wehrfritz-Hanson

This festschrift of sorts is comprised of several essays written by Jewish, Protestant and Roman Catholic scholars, who in some way knew Abraham Joshua Heschel and were inspired by his life and work.

   It is divided into four parts: Part One: Remembering Abraham Joshua Heschel; Part Two: Heschel As Biblical Theologian; Part Three: Heschel As Philosopher And Poet; and Part Four: Heschel As Social Critic And Ecumenist.

   In the opening essay by Samuel H. Dresner, “Heschel the Man,” Dresner suggests that Heschel appealed to and was respected by all three monotheistic faiths, as well as: Blacks, the aged, the “Six Million” who perished in the Shoah, and the Russian Jews.

   Dresner regards Heschel as a prophet, a shalem—i.e. a complete, whole person, and a zaddik—i.e. a Hasidic master.

   Citing Heschel’s The Insecurity of Freedom: Essays on Human Existence, Dresner includes gems like this on Heschel’s critique of religion: “Religion has declined,” he told religious leaders, “not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid….When religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion, its message becomes meaningless.” (p. 23)

   In Ursula M. Niebuhr’s essay, “Notes on a Friendship Abraham Joshua Heschel and Reinhold Niebuhr,” she includes this thought-provoking quote, which Heschel had written in his important book, The Prophets: “Prophecy is a sham unless it is experienced as a word of God swooping down on man (sic) and converting him (sic) into a prophet.” (p. 40) Another quote Niebuhr includes from Heschel’s God In Search of Man: A Philosophy of Judaism on awe: “Awe enables us…to sense in small things the beginnings of infinite significance, to sense the ultimate in the common and the simple.” (p. 41) Such an understanding of awe reminds this reviewer of how many Christians view the Incarnation.

   In Bernhard W. Anderson’s essay, “Coexistence With God Heschel’s Exposition of Biblical Theology,” he includes a couple of amazing quotes epitomizing Heschel’s gift as a creative scholar and poet. As Heschel puts it, speaking out of and to the Jewish community, “every one of us has stood at the foot of Sinai” in the presence of the Holy God who speaks and calls for us to answer. “Only in moments when we are able to share in the spirit of awe that fills the world are we able to understand what happened to Israel at Sinai.” (p. 52)

   The Bible he says, is “holiness in words, that is, these human words are the vehicles that God uses to establish relations with a people. It is as if God took these Hebrew words and breathed into them of His power, and the words became a live wire charged with His spirit. To this very day they are hyphens between heaven and earth.” (p. 54) As a reviewer somewhat biased towards hyphens, this definitely resonates. “The Bible,” he says, “is not a book to be read but a drama in which to participate.” In this drama, it is God who takes the initiative. (p. 54) Many Christians would also agree with Heschel here.

   In each of the other essays, the authors in their own unique way, pay tribute to Heschel by sharing stories, anecdotes, insights, etc., on how Heschel influenced them; how much they appreciated his friendship; and how his academic works inspired their own scholarship; and how his faith was a manifestation in acts of loving kindness, which inspired and motivated others to go and do likewise; in response to the awe, mystery, beauty and love of God’s grace.